Manny Pacquiao will make his ring return against world champion Mario Barrios, 30 years after his pro debut.
Manny Pacquiao made his pro debut months before Mario Barrios was even born, and yet will face Barrios, the WBC world champion, at the age of 46.
Pacquiao’s win over Marco Antonio Barrera made him a household name in the UK, but has been an iconic figure in the Philippines for years now.
Pacquiao‘s legendary status is so renowned in his home country that he even influenced the city’s crime rate.
Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP/GettyImagesManny Pacquiao’s fight with Erik Morales halted Manila crime for hours
In 2006, the PhilStar reported that Manila police had stated that during Pacquiao’s fight with Erik Morales, the third of their trilogy, almost zero crime was reported.
“There is zero significant and insignificant crimes listed at our RTOC in the duration of the boxing match.”
Pacquiao had first faced Morales in 2005, when he lost a close unanimous decision, and his shot at the IBA super-featherweight title, to the Mexican.
In January 2006, Pacquiao got revenge, stopping the 48-3 Morales in the 10th round.
With one win a piece, the pair’s rivalry came down to one final bout in November 2006.
Pacquiao left no doubt in the trilogy, and stunned onlookers as he breezed through Morales in three rounds.
The fight was so enthralling that Filipino citizens were glued to their screens, and crime went rapidly down. The same phenomenon happened when Pacquiao defeated David Diaz for the lightweight title.
Manny Pacquiao used a sneaky trick to be allowed to fight early in his career
Pacquiao began his career at just 106 pounds or 48 kilograms, and, in fact, was not even heavy enough for some of these fights.
23 Jun 2001: Manny Pacquiao ( L) gets Lehlohono Ledwaba in a lock during IBF Super Bantamweight Championship bout at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao won the bout by way of knockout after 6 rounds. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport
He is reported to have been so light that he would put ball bearings in his pockets to ensure he reached the minimum weight to be allowed to fight.
The trick worked, as Pacquiao has undoubtedly achieved all-time-great status all these years later.